Method and apparatus for selection of bands to maximize measurements in a tuneless measurement gap

Abstract

Techniques are provided for selecting measurement gap periods for positioning user equipment, UE, in 5G NR. A method for positioning a user equipment includes receiving ( 1302 ) positioning assistance data associated with one or more frequency layers from a network, determining ( 1304 ) measurement gap information for one or more bands associated with the one or more frequency layers, determining ( 1306 ) a number of available positioning reference signals for each of the one or more bands based on the positioning assistance data and the measurement gap information, measuring ( 1308 ) one or more positioning reference signals for a selected band, wherein the selected band is based on the number of available positioning reference signals in a measurement gap, and computing ( 1310 ) location information based at least in part on one or more positioning reference signal measurements.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for positioning a user equipment, comprising:
 receiving, at the user equipment, positioning assistance data associated with one or more frequency layers from a network;   determining, at the user equipment, measurement gap information for one or more bands associated with the one or more frequency layers;   determining, at the user equipment, a number of available positioning reference signals for each of the one or more bands based on the positioning assistance data and the measurement gap information;   measuring, at the user equipment, one or more positioning reference signals for a selected band, wherein the selected band is based on the number of available positioning reference signals in a measurement gap; and   computing location information based at least in part on one or more positioning reference signal measurements.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining the measurement gap information includes determining a tune in duration and a tune out duration for the measurement gap. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the selected band is a band to which the user equipment does not need to tune in or tune out whereby the measurement gap is a tuneless measurement gap and the tune in duration and the tune out duration are zero. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the one or more bands is associated with an active bandwidth part on the user equipment. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the one or more bands includes a first component carrier in a first band and a second component carrier in a second band. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the first band and the second band are in a first frequency layer. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the first band is in a first frequency layer and the second band is in a second frequency layer. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the one or more bands includes a first component carrier and a second component carrier in a first band. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the selected band is determined so as to maximize a measurable number of positioning reference signals in one or more component carriers in the measurement gap. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the measurable number of positioning reference signals comprises those in an actual gap less any tune in or tune out period for the user equipment. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the one or more frequency layers includes a first frequency layer in a range of 410-7125 MHz, or a second frequency layer in a range of 24.25-52.6 GHz. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the one or more frequency layers is configured to operate in a frequency range above 100 GHz. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining the measurement gap information includes requesting the measurement gap information from a base station. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the one or more positioning reference signals is a beamformed positioning reference signal. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the one or more positioning reference signals includes at least two positioning reference signals transmitted in the same frequency layer. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the one or more positioning reference signals includes a first positioning reference signal transmitted in a first frequency layer and a second positioning reference signal transmitted in a second frequency layer. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the selected band is based on the number of available positioning reference signals in a combination of measurement gaps in the one or more bands. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining the measurement gap information includes requesting the measurement gap information from a base station and receiving the measurement gap information from the base station. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein requesting the measurement gap information is based on radio resource control (RRC) messaging. 
     
     
         20 . A user equipment, comprising:
 a memory;   at least one transceiver;   at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one processor and configured to:
 receive positioning assistance data associated with one or more frequency layers from a network; 
 determine measurement gap information for one or more bands associated with the one or more frequency layers; 
 determine a number of available positioning reference signals for each of the one or more bands based on the positioning assistance data and the measurement gap information; 
 measure one or more positioning reference signals for a selected band, wherein the selected band is based on the number of available positioning reference signals in a measurement gap; and 
 compute location information based at least in part on one or more positioning reference signal measurements. 
   
     
     
         21 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine a tune in duration and a tune out duration for the measurement gap. 
     
     
         22 . The user equipment of  claim 21  wherein the at least one processor is further configured to select a band which does not need to tune in or tune out whereby the measurement gap is a tuneless measurement gap and the tune in duration and the tune out duration are zero. 
     
     
         23 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein at least one of the one or more bands is associated with an active bandwidth part on the user equipment. 
     
     
         24 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein the one or more bands includes a first component carrier in a first band and a second component carrier in a second band. 
     
     
         25 . The user equipment of  claim 24  wherein the first band and the second band are in a first frequency layer. 
     
     
         26 . The user equipment of  claim 24  wherein the first band is in a first frequency layer and the second band is in a second frequency layer. 
     
     
         27 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein the one or more bands includes a first component carrier and a second component carrier in a first band. 
     
     
         28 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein the at least one processor is further configured to select a band so as to maximize a measurable number of positioning reference signals in one or more component carriers in the measurement gap. 
     
     
         29 . The user equipment of  claim 28  wherein the measurable number of positioning reference signals comprises those in an actual gap less any tune in or tune out period. 
     
     
         30 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein the one or more frequency layers includes a first frequency layer in a range of 410-7125 MHz, or a second frequency layer in a range of 24.25-52.6 GHz. 
     
     
         31 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein at least one of the one or more frequency layers is configured to operate in a frequency range above 100 GHz. 
     
     
         32 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein the at least one processor is configured to request the measurement gap information from a base station. 
     
     
         33 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein at least one of the one or more positioning reference signals is a beamformed positioning reference signal. 
     
     
         34 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein the one or more positioning reference signals includes at least two positioning reference signals transmitted in the same frequency layer. 
     
     
         35 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein the one or more positioning reference signals includes a first positioning reference signal transmitted in a first frequency layer and a second positioning reference signal transmitted in a second frequency layer. 
     
     
         36 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein the selected band is based on the number of available positioning reference signals in a combination of measurement gaps in the one or more bands. 
     
     
         37 . The user equipment of  claim 20  wherein the at least one processor is further configured to request the measurement gap information from a base station and receive the measurement gap information from the base station. 
     
     
         38 . The user equipment of  claim 37  wherein the at least one processor is further configured to request the measurement gap information based on radio resource control (RRC) messaging. 
     
     
         39 . A user equipment, comprising:
 means for receiving positioning assistance data associated with one or more frequency layers from a network;   means for determining measurement gap information for one or more bands associated with the one or more frequency layers;   means for determining a number of available positioning reference signals for each of the one or more bands based on the positioning assistance data and the measurement gap information;   means for measuring one or more positioning reference signals for a selected band, wherein the selected band is based on the number of available positioning reference signals in a measurement gap; and   means for computing location information based at least in part on one or more positioning reference signal measurements.   
     
     
         40 . A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors of a user equipment to position the user equipment, comprising code for:
 receiving positioning assistance data associated with one or more frequency layers from a network;   determining measurement gap information for one or more bands associated with the one or more frequency layers;   determining a number of available positioning reference signals for each of the one or more bands based on the positioning assistance data and the measurement gap information;   measuring one or more positioning reference signals for a selected band, wherein the selected band is based on the number of available positioning reference signals in a measurement gap; and   computing location information based at least in part on one or more positioning reference signal measurements.